Swisscom establishes M2M division

In the last quarter of 2011 alone, Swisscom recorded an increase in demand of around ten percent in the area of M2M communication, the company wrote in a press release on Monday. It is estimated that more than 100 million machines in Switzerland will be connected to each other via the mobile network in the long term. The so-called "Internet of Things" should help to simplify processes, reduce costs and use scarce resources more sustainably. Municipal utilities can already read electricity meters automatically via the mobile network instead of having to send a sales representative to customers. Navigation devices receive up-to-date traffic jam information calculated from the anonymized movement data of mobile phone customers. And in the near future, cars will warn each other of danger spots, coffee machines will automatically reorder beans and medical devices will transmit patients' blood pressure readings online.

In order to drive the M2M market forward in the future, Swisscom will be bundling its activities in a specially created department, according to the statement. "In Gerhard Schedler, we have gained an experienced entrepreneur as head of the new business area," says Urs Schaeppi, Head of Swisscom Large Enterprises. "In recent years, he has successfully built up a solutions business for the communication of things." In future, the new department will support customers from the project idea through to implementation and operation. In addition to offering complete business solutions for large customers, Swisscom will also actively support international M2M solution partners in the marketing and operation of their offerings.